Second Seasons
by TexDinoco
Summary: "It hurts at first, but it will feel less like heartache and more like good memories as time goes on." The legendary Lightning McQueen decides he's done with racing. Cruz isn't sure how she's supposed to handle going on without her best friend and mentor cheering her on from the crew cheif's podium. (Cruz Angst-fic. Cross-posted from AO3.)


"I won! Mr McQueen, I won the piston cup! I can't believe it!" Cruz shouted happily, knowing her crew chief could hear her more than clearly through his headset. While the rest of the racers finished their last lap and headed to the pits, Cruz went straight for the grass and began spinning doughnuts, filled with pure excitement.

She spun, gunning her engine as loud as he could until there was a large cloud of grass and dirt around her and she grew dizzy.

"Alright kid, come in to the pit before you blow your tires out," Lightning's chuckle crackled through her built-in earpiece. With a determined grin, she sped toward the pits, making a sharp turn and speeding down the strip of asphalt way faster than she should have been going, heading straight for the navy blue blur of her crew chief in the distance.

Lightning had backed off his podium and was now down on the ground with the others, ready to greet her as she came, but she was approaching too fast for his liking.

"Cruz, slow down!" He shouted backing up just a bit as she came even closer. "Hit the brakes!"

"My brakes?! Oh!" Remembering that she had them, she slammed her brakes, but that didn't stop her from skidding directly in to Lightning, who braced himself for impact. "I'm sorry, Mr. McQueen!"

She didn't hit him hard enough to hurt, but the 'thud' that sounded on impact definitely gave some depth to the minor collision.

"You gotta slow down, kid," Lightning said, backing up with grin. "The race is over, you don't have to run."

The happy expression plastered on Cruz's face dropped, and she stared at him.

"What, do I have something on my face?" joked Lightning. Cruz said nothing and continued to stare, eyes trained specifically at his left fender, which now sported a large dent. There was a brief moment of silence on Lightning's behalf, accompanying Cruz's much longer, as they both took a look at the dent. Then Cruz rapidly began to babble an apology.

"I-I'm sorry, Lightning! I didn't meant to—"

"It's fine," Lightning said, "It's just a little dent. Don't worry about it."

"That's _not_ a little dent! I'm so sorry! I scratched your paint! I shouldn't have sped in here so fast, I could have been a little more cautious and–"

"Hey. I said don't worry about it, kid!" He gave her a gentle tap on the cheek with his tire. "Now go on, you have a trophy to pick up. Put that smile back on your face and go get it! Oh, and also, you should probably shake all that dirt and grass off of you before you stand in front of the cameras."

"Dirt?" She looked down at her own hood and saw a few small grass clippings and dirt from her spin cycle. She gave her entire body a quick shake, then went, slowly this time, to retrieve her trophy and talk to the paparazzi.

Lightning made sure to keep his new dent out of the view of any camera lenses, to save Cruz some embarrassment.

The drive back to Radiator Springs proved to be eventful before they'd even hit the road. Cruz, very much excited and heavily energized from her big win, refused to sit still in the trailer all day. She opted to drive alongside Mack while Lightning rode in the trailer and guarded her Piston Cup.

Lightning backed in to the trailer with a shrug. She had enough energy and he'd rather she use most of it up on the road. It felt unjust to have her sit inside the trailer for hours while her engine buzzed the entire time, longing for her to move about freely.

She held up pretty well for the first half of the drive, but she'd began to get restless while barely moving at the speed limit. She was used to driving at constantly fast speeds, and the restricted limit of the highway made her feel as if they were moving at a snails pace. A few times, she had floored it and sped up, then slowed and waited for Mack to catch up, but after the fourth time (and several warnings from Lightning to stop speeding), she'd stuck closer to the two. She didn't exactly know the way back to Radiator Springs, so she'd need to follow Mack anyways.

Lightning spent the hours switching through channels on the flatscreen until he came across something he liked, watched it until it ended, then flipped through more channels until something else caught his interest. Currently, nothing was catching his interest. He flipped and flipped, hoping something cool like a good documentary would show. And wow, he chuckled to himself. You know you're getting old when you hope a good documentary plays on tv.

With the corner of his eye, he saw Cruz zoom by. Then she zoomed by on the other side of Mack. Again and again.

"That's weird..." he said to himself. It took him a few moments to realize that she was literally running circles around Mack.

He scrambled forward, tire extended to hit the button that allowed him to communicate with the truck.

"Mack! Tell her to stop that before she gets us arrested!"

"Kid," Mack shook his head, "Please slow down! You really know how to make a guy dizzy!"

Lightning can hear a muffled "Sorry Mr. Mack!" Though the speaker.

Not too long later, they made a short stop, allowing Mack to refill his tank and Lightning to stretch his tires. As he drove around the lot aimlessly, Cruz happily bounced after him, talking about anything and everything she could think of in the span of five minuets, until Mack called out to them that they were getting back on the road, Much to Lightning's pleasure. He wanted to get home as quick as possible, and wasted no time making his was over the the trailer.

He stopped right before he reached the ramp of the trailer and waited for her. "In you go."

"Me? Why?"

"Because I'm tired," Lightning said, moving to look at her.

"But what's that got to do with me?"

"I want to rest easy knowing that you're not being chased down the highway by the police because you're driving like a maniac," He was only telling half the truth. At least if she was in the trailer, he knew that she'd be safe, too. She wouldn't wander off or get lost.

"I guess," Cruz shrugged and backed in to the trailer. "But what if I get bored?"

"Well," Lightning entered, facing her ( luckily, there was more than enough room for both of them), and nudged the Piston cup toward her, "You can look at this. Or you can look out the window. Or you can take a nap, like me."

She silently made her pick, beaming proudly at the trophy as Lightning closed the trailer and they started back on the road again.

"It's so shiny! I didn't notice before just how pretty it is. It's just so gold and bright...I'm going to cherish it forever."

He can't help the small smile that made it's was on to his face as he watched her marvel at her new prize before he settled down and closed his eyes.

As soon as she saw the first road sign for Radiator Springs, she gunned it and shot down the road toward the town at 211mph.

They'd let her out of the trailer an hour previous, since she'd gotten bored of sitting still. (He'd also decided to drive the rest of the way, wanting to go straight to Sally as they made it to town.)

At least on this road, they didn't have to worry about the police chasing after them. The only cop out here was Sheriff, and he wouldn't bother chasing after her. He knew she was too fast, and reprimanding her wouldn't do much. She was always moving fast. She _was_ Lightning McQueen's racer, after all.

Fortunately, the stretch of road from here to home won't be heavily occupied. Cruz can speed as fast as she can. (Lightning hoped she'd as least slow down before she got in to town and gave someone else a dent.)

She whipped by Sheriff so fast that she was out of eyesight by the time he got his eyes opened. He looked at the cloud of dust that was moving in the direction of town, then looked the other way and spotted Mack weaving through the road in the distance and knew that it was Cruz who'd rushed on by. He prayed she slowed down before she got in to town and crashed in to whatever unlucky fella didn't get out of her way in time.

When Mack and Lightning finally approached, Sheriff decided to join him in heading back to the town. Everyone had been anticipating their return.

"What happened to ya, boy?" He questioned upon seeing the dent in Lightning's fender.

The former racer smiled fondly, "Kid kinda forgot she had breaks for a second."

"She's got more energy than a jackrabbit," Sheriff chuckled. "And I'm sure Ramone can fix that dent for you."

There was black skid marks in the street heading in to town, from where Cruz had come to a screeching halt as she made it in to Radiator Springs. They couldn't see her due to the small rise in the road, but they could hear her engine gunning loudly and the sound of screeching tires, followed by what definitely sounded like Cruz screaming.

"Cruz!" Before the other two had the chance to say anything, Lightning had sped forward, disappearing over the top of the small hill and out of sight. Fearing that something may be wrong, Mack and Sheriff picked up their speeds, but hit the brakes as soon as they reached the top of the hill and found Lightning stopped, looking down the road. "She's okay."

And out in the middle of the street beside Flo's was Cruz, doing donuts and squealing happily while the others surrounded her.

"She does that when she's happy," Lightning informed Sheriff, to which Mac nodded in confirmation. "And she's always happy."

The navy blue stock car searched the small crowd for a certain baby blue Porsche and once he'd picked her out from the rest, drove up beside her. Mack headed toward the racing museum to leave the trailer outside, for any tourists who wanted to take pictures.

"Please remember to slow down when you come in to town! We can't have you running in to anyone and getting you and them hurt," Sheriff said as he rolled up to join the rest of the group. Cruz had jumped up to abruptly stopped spinning her donuts, landing back on the ground with her tires splayed out in an almost cat-like fashion.

"Sorry Sheriff, I-I'll try to remember," she wheezed out, breathing heavy from her spinning session. "I'm just really happy! I was telling everyone about how I won the Piston Cup!"

"Hey Stickers," Sally gave Lightning a quick nuzzle as he came near, the conversation between the others fading to background noise as they shared a moment between the two of them.

"Hey Sal. I missed ya."

"I missed you too, Lightning. It's not as fun watching the race on tv, but with more tourists, the town needs me."

"And you've done a really good job of keeping everything together."

"Thanks, Stickers." Sally gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and the two of them leaned in to each other, enjoying the feeling of finally being together.

Their moment was quickly shattered when the both of them were startled by the loud sound of Cruz's engine revving. The yellow racer was describing excitedly how she'd won the final race.

"–And then he was, like, right beside me! And I was going fast and he started going faster, then then I started going FASTER than him! I've never moved that fast before! I hit 214! That's the fastest I've ever been!" She was talking so fast she had to gasp for breath in between some of her words, but the smile stayed on her face the entire time, not faltering.

"She seems happy," Sally said, smiling at the young racer.

"She's been happy since she won," Lightning said, backing up a bit to show the dent in his fender.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"Post-win excitement happened," chuckled Lightning. "I'll ask Ramone to fix it."

"Fix what?" Flo asked, turning to the couple.

"Oh, uh, I've got a dent," Lightning said showing the impounded fender to the others.

"How'd that happen, man?" Ramone asked, coming closer to get a better look. "Looks like it hurt, but I can get that looking good as new, dude."

"My protégé is a little clumsy."

Cruz blushed, "I said I was sorry, Mr. McQueen!"

Sally shook her head with a smile. "Why don't we let Cruz and Stickers get settled in for a bit? Then we can celebrate Cruz's big win later this evening!"

Everyone seemed to agree on this idea.

"Um...Mr. McQueen?" Cruz asked sheepishly. "Where do I put my trophy?"

"Don't you wanna put it in the museum with the other one?"

"You mean I get to put it in the museum!? I'm gonna go do that right now!" She was already drowning out her own words with her rumbling engine, and before anyone could shout it a warning to go slow, she shot forward...and straight in to the tower of tires in front of Luigi's shop.

"Guido, our tires! Make sure they do not roll too far away!" Luigi exclaimed, stopping a few that had rolled in his direction.

"Change of plans!" Cruz said, looking around her at the mess of tires she'd created. "I'm going to help Luigi put his tires back where they belong. THEN I'm going to put my trophy in the museum. And I'll go slow, too, I promise!"

"I trust that you keep that promise, kid," Lightning said, giving her and the others a nod before heading toward Ramone's shop, going around a tire that lay in the middle of the road.

"Cruz, this is the fourth time you knock down my tires," he could hear Luigi softly scold the racer. "My tower cannot be a tower if all of the tires are in the street!"

"Sorry, Luigi! I'm just excited to be home! Well, Radiator Springs, I mean, not home."

Lightning stopped as he heard her say that.

"–Not 'home', because I already have a home! I mean—had a place I called home, back in Las Cruces, but I kinda gave that up when I started training racers, and now I am a racer...this is not important, sorry. I'll help you fix your tires."

Her words lest the former racer perplexed. Hadn't she considered Radiator Springs home, too? She certainly seemed excited to come back with him. She made no mention of even having anywhere else to go…

Sally let Cruz stay in the Cozy Cone, in Cone 1. She'd made sure to keep the Cone reserved for the entire time they'd been away, so it would be in top shape when her and Lightning returned. It's right in the middle of town and far better than sticking her all the way out in the wheel well. Although the thought of having an extra hand to help out all the way out there was nice, she'd feel bad if she left Cruz out there all alone every night.

Sure, she was a cheery little fruit and would probably make friends with the customers staying in the Wheel Well, but it wasn't the same as being around family (she considered herself and Lightning to be Cruz's family, since she'd never really heard the girl talk about her own family much). Lightning had also mentioned to Sally that Cruz had said something about Radiator Springs not being home, and wondered briefly if it was because the girl simply did not feel at home. She felt like it was her job to make the racer feel more at home. Besides, the last two weeks Cruz had been the happiest she'd ever seen her.

Sally watched as the yellow car emerged from her cone, looking as energetic as ever, despite having just woken up. Behind her, Lightning, who'd also just woken, moved more slowly, still groggy from sleep.

"Good morning, Stickers," Sally greeted, moving to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He grew a soft, tired smile, mumbling a good morning greeting in return. "You know, I'm still getting used to seeing you in red again. I prefer it over Blue. It feels more...comfortable. It feels more...you."

"Mhmm," Lightning yawned.

Outside the windows, Sally could see the yellow racer happily greeting Sarge and Mater, practically bouncing out in to the street to wish them good morning before heading toward Flo's. "She's always so happy when she wakes up, if I didn't know her any better, I'd say she was a robot! I've never met a single Car who has that much energy so early in the morning."

"It's gonna crush me when I break the news to her," said Lightning, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Sally turned around to look at him. "Tell her that..?"

"Yes. She has to know sooner or later, there's only two months until the new season starts and she needs time to process it all, and still have time left for training!"

"I don't know about this, Lightning...can't you put it off for a few more days?"

"I've been putting it off since we got back here. The longer I wait the worse it's going to affect her!"

"If it's what you have to do..." Sally still looked unsure, but she forced a smile. "I'll be there for you. For both of you."

"Thank you, Sally. I'm so lucky to have you."

In the distance, the screeching of tires sounded, and the pair peeked out the window to see Cruz spinning a few donuts and leaving marks on the pavement before she began to drive in reverse (a trick she'd picked up from a certain rusty tow truck). Later, Sally'd ask Red to power-wash the marks off the pavement. But for now they remained as the result of a very happy racecar.

What she was happy about? Sally didn't know. Maybe someone said good morning to her more enthusiastically than normal. Maybe the street felt better under her tires than it usually did. Maybe Sarge smiled at her. Possibilities were endless. Sally could only imagine how hurt Cruz would be when Lightning broke the news to her.

Once everyone in the town was out and about, Lightning suggested that Cruz help Sally over at the Wheel Well. And to also make rounds to and from the Wheel Well to collect any needed supplies and other necessary items. With all the energy she had, the long drive up there and back would keep her occupied and keep her from literally running in to someone else.

"I'll go right now and take inventory or everything we have and make a list of things we need!" She said excitedly, hitting the gas and speeding down the street and around the corner.

"Does she ever go slow?" Sheriff sighed.

"Slow is not in her vocabulary," Mack stated, giving his head a shake.

"The only time I've ever seen her move slow was when she first drove on a beach," Lightning admitted. "Other than that she moves faster than lightning. Literally and figuratively."

The others gave a chuckle, all aware of the running joke the pair had between them of Lightning being old.

By the time the late afternoon rolled around, Cruz and Sally had ventured back from the Wheel Well and gathered with everyone at Flo's. Luckily the place wasn't heavily populated with tourists today, so Lightning didn't have to deal with many people in the Museum while he spent his day distracted, thinking about how to tell Cruz.

Everyone sat in their respective groups. Flo and Ramone together, Sarge and Fillmore side by side (as if they'd ever be anywhere else), Sally and McQueen practically cuddling, Lizzie with Red loyalty perched beside her, Guido and Luigi discussing things softly in Italian, Mater parked beside Cruz (his new go-to partner in crime when McQueen was busy), and Sheriff. Sometimes the others still felt that dull ache in their heart when noticed the empty spot beside the sheriff, the spot that used to be occupied by an old blue grump.

Lightning figured no time would be better than now, while everyone else was busy and would give them the time and space they needed. He pulled away from Sally after she'd given him a good luck kiss, and pulled up beside Cruz, who was blowing bubbles in to her tin of oil.

"Hey, Cruz," He smiled at her. "Care to join me for a drive to Willy's Butte?"

"For training?" She asked, watching as he drove out in to the road. "I've been practicing my turns, I can show you how good I've gotten—"

"Are you coming, Cruzie?"

"Of course, Mr. McQueen!" She left her tin of oil as she drove after him.

Lightning didn't speed down the road, which forced Cruz to stay beside him and move slow, her engine purring and occasionally letting out a soft 'put put put' sound every time she wanted to move fast.

When they reached the overlook, Lightning stopped. He parked himself on the edge and looked out toward the horizon, the sun, low in the sky, reflecting in an orange-pink on the shine of his paint. Cruz stopped behind him, watching him for a moment. He didn't go down to the track, or even movie at all from where he'd perched.

"Mr. McQueen?" She slowly pulled up beside him.

"It's a beautiful sight isn't it?"

"Yeah...it looks kinda nice?" She gazed out toward the stretch of desert on the far side of Willy's Butte, where he red dirt seemed to go on for miles and miles under the sinking sun.

"What does it feel like to you, Cruz?"

"What does it feel like?" Was this some kind of brain training exercise? Was this supposed to make her smarter than the other racers and teach her something that would help her win? Should she say she didn't know, or should she really think about it? Her best bet was to answer as truthfully as she could. "It feels like...like I want to speed out there, as fast as I can. I want to run that stretch of dirt for miles, and find out what's beyond the horizon...I look at it and want to know where it ends, or if it ends. When it ends. And I want to feel the untouched dirt under my tiles, and be the first to make a course out there!"

By the time she finished her speech, she had gathered up her excitement and was now nearly bouncing on her wheels.

"It feels like home to me," Lightning answered, turning away from the sunset and giving her a melancholy smile. "Have you ever felt what that feels like, Cruz? Don't you feel at home?"

"Home?" Something inside of her engine twinged at the word and she ceased her happy movements. She loved Radiator Springs as much as Lightning and the others, but the town itself didn't give her the comfort of home.

Lightning awaited her reply.

"Well I...I feel at home when I'm racing on the track. More at home than anywhere I've ever been…It's like I'm meant to be there, and you're right there with me. I felt at home when you were cheering in my ear, and when you told me how great of a racer I was! And earlier today Sally told me that she was thankful that I was there to help and that she really appreciated it, she said she was lucky that you'd found me– or rather, I found you– and that felt like home! And last week, Sheriff told me that I remind him of you and Doc! And the other night, Mater and I were backwards racing, and he complimented me and said that I'm a better backwards driver than _you_ , and I'm not entirely sure what _home_ is supposed to feel like, but I think that was pretty darn close!" The ache in her engine was quickly forgotten as she got excited again. "Oh— I _have_ felt what home feels like, Mr. McQueen! Home feels like _**you**_."

"Cruz," Lightning swallowed hard. "I have to tell you something."

"What is it, Mr. McQueen?"

"I didn't bring you out here to train you. We came out here because we need to talk."

"I'm listening," the smile on her face dropped at the seriousness in his voice and she silently waited for him to get himself together before speaking.

"I'm stepping down as your crew chief."

"You're what!?"

"I just…Cruz, I feel like maybe it's time to take a break."

"A br...you can't be serious, Mr. McQueen! You're going away!?"

"No, no, don't think of it as me going away! Think of it as you getting stronger!"

"Getting stronger!?"

"Yes! You can do it without my help—"

"But it's supposed to be _Cruz and McQueen,_ not Cruz by herself! We're supposed to be undefeatable together, Mr. McQueen! Tex bought Rusteze so you could keep your tires in the racing world, so you could be my crew chief and now you're just leaving!?"

"Cruz, you know I can't be there forever, right?"

"But you can't leave so soon, I—"

"Cruz."

"But—"

"Cruz! I feel like I've guided you enough, now it's time for you to ride the rest of this journey without me. It's time for you to make new connections, new friends…the guys at Dinoco'll take good care of you, Cruz. They're one of the best sponsors a racer could ever have. Mr. Weathers'll step in as your Crew Chief for the season and we'll see how that works out. Maybe he'll like it and take the job on permanently, maybe Cal will want a shot at it. I know the two of you get along, you're good friends, right?"

"It won't be the same," Cruz said softly, blinking back the tears that had begun to form in the corners of her windshield. "What about you?"

"I'll stay here, in Radiator Springs with Sally."

"But don't you love racing?"

"I do, but I'm old, remember," he tried to lighten the mood. "I'm not getting any younger, if anytime's a good time to stop and settle down, it'd be now…maybe start a family, I'm not sure. It just feels like the right thing to do. I'm still gonna train you though! We'll make sure you're in top shape and ready to take on the world come February!"

"I understand," Cruz said sadly. "But there's more to your reasoning than just that, right?"

"To tell you the truth, Cruz, I don't know. It just felt right...Just remember; It's nothing you did. It was a decision I made…" he sighed and backed up, preparing to head back in to town before it got too dark. "Are you coming?"

"No, I think I'll just…maybe I'll stay here and do a few laps. Yeah, that sounds good..." She slowly made her way down toward the dirt track.

"Just– don't stay out here too late, okay?" Lightning said, giving her one last look before driving back toward town.

"How'd she take it?" Sally asked when Lightning returned.

"Not as well as I hoped," replied Lightning, "But she's strong. I know she'll bounce back to the way she used to be before. She just needs time to process it."

"Where is she?"

"Out doing laps. She needs some time to think."

By the time morning came, Cruz found herself in the exact same place she'd been last night. At the start of the dirt track.

She hadn't moved an inch, having spent all night in the desert alone with her thoughts.

Suddenly upset with herself, she launched forward at full speed, taking laps in leu of frustration. By the time she'd decided she was done, she'd run herself past exhaustion and every last inch of her was covered in dirt. She'd ask Red to hose her down later so she didn't leave tracks of dust wherever she went.

She slowly rolled in to town and was immediately flanked on either side by McQueen and Sally, both asking her if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Cruz said, taking in a deep breath. "I'm not hurt."

"But you didn't come back last night!"

"And you're covered in dirt!"

"I'm okay!" She assured, rolling away from the pair to greet the others in town.

"I'm not okay." Cruz shut her eyes again as Red doused her with another spray of water, washing dirt off her roof. "I can't believe he's leaving me!"

"He's leaving me, too," Mack said, frowning. "But Lightning has a life outside of racing that he wants to pursue. I've been with him since day one and it's hard on me as well. We can't be angry at him, though."

Cruz pouted and shook the remaining water off of her. She figured that she could open up to Mack, since he must have been feeling something similar, and since Mack and Red were together (the red giants had become good friends over time), she didn't pass up the opportunity to get rid of the dirt that covered her. "I'm not angry at him, I just...wish he wasn't leaving. I thought he loved racing more than anything else in the world."

Cruz turned around when she felt a light tap at her bumper, and found Lizzie standing behind her. "Excuse me, Lemon, would you mind moving out of the way?"

Realizing that she was blocking the ramp in to Lizzie's shop, she apologized and moved out of the way, allowing the old woman to slowly trawl up to the porch. She was pretty sure Lizzie didn't know her name. Either she'd forgot and couldn't remember or didn't bother to learn and settled for calling her 'lemon' because of her bright yellow color. It didn't bother Cruz, though.

"We made such a good team," Cruz continued, "I didn't think I'd lose him so soon."

"Hey, kid, you're making it sound like he died," Mack said, though he felt the same as her on the inside.

"I can tell you a thing or two about losing someone!"

Lizzie spoke up from her spot beside her radio.

"You can?" Cruz turned away from Mack. "Like...how?"

"Well, it all started when I first met Stanley! From that moment on, we were always together. We fell in love and got married, we spent each moment of our day with each other, and it was never one without the other. Losing him was like losing a big part of me, but I had to come to terms with what it meant, and I knew that just because he was no longer beside me, it didn't mean that I could just stop living my own life. It hurts at first, but it will feel less like heartache and more like good memories as time goes on. Luckily for you, Hod Rod over there is not completely gone."

Cruz mused the words over in her mind for a moment, then nodded as she took in the advice. "Thank you so much, Lizzie! I'd haven't thought of it that way before! I've been thinking through my anger!"

"Thank you for what?" The old woman asked, turning to Red. "What is she talking about? I didn't say anything!"

Cruz still didn't feel 100% better about the situation, but at least she didn't feel like she was going to emotionally die anymore. She had a new way to view things, hopefully she could continue to see it this way as the next few months went on.

Like Lightning had promised, he continued to train her through the winter, building her speed and strength until it was time for her and Mack to leave.

The others crowded around Cruz as she stood in front of the trailer, each person giving their own personal goodbye.

"You're gonna do great, soldier," Sarge gave her a salute.

"And remember," Fillmore added, "Just relax and chill out and clear your mind before every race, man."

"Don't contaminate her, Hippie!"

"Hey man, if you get your paint scratched up out in the track again, remember ol' Ramone can always fix it your you," Ramone said, smirking.

"And when you come back, I'll make a special drink for you, in your honor," Flo smiled.

"And when ya get back, I got a whole list'a fun things for us to do!" Mater chimed in, "Dadgum, it's gonna be one heck of a celebration!"

"And remember, save the speeding for the track," Sheriff warned.

"Thank you all so much, really!" Cruz said, slowly backing up on to the ramp of the trailer.

"Hey, kid," Sally approached. "You're gonna do good. We all believe in you, and we're all proud of you. And when the season's over and you come back to Radiator Springs, we'll be waiting for you."

"Thank you, Ms. Sally."

"Bring us back a trophy, Dinosaur," Sally reached out and tapped her tire to Cruz's cheek, the racer smiling at the nickname she'd been given (due to the blue dinosaur painted on her side.)

While the others bid their farewell to Cruz, Lightning drove around to trailer to approach Mack.

"Hey, buddy," He greeted, slowing to a stop in front of the red giant. Despite the trailer being painted blue, Mack decided to keep his red color.

"Hey Lightning."

"Mack…take care of her, okay?"

"Of course I will," Mack said, grinning at the smaller red car.

"Don't let anything happen to her. And don't lose her either!"

"Oh, I won't, boss! I've learned my lesson and my days of driving while drowsy are over!"

"I'm not the boss anymore," Lightning said, motioning toward the trailer. "She is."

"You're right, Lightning. At least she's not as much of a handful as you were," Mack joked.

"You say that now, but when she's speeding circles around you down the interstate, you'll be wishing you had to haul me around instead," Lightning chuckled. "Good luck, Mack. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss ya too, Lightning. But don't worry, I'll make sure to bring her back to Radiator Springs in one piece."

Lightning tapped his tire to Mack's, giving a quick hi-five before making his way toward the trailer to say his goodbyes.

"Hey, Francis Beltline," He called out as he approached the trailer, where Cruz was already sitting inside.

"Mr. McQueen!"

"Don't let the school bus of death get you out there," Lightning gave her a melancholy smile. "And remember to send me pictures of every little crab you see on every beach!"

"Don't worry, I will!" She promised, grinning at him.

"Goodbye Cruz. Good luck on your races," he swallowed down the lump in his throat, and he could tell she was dealing with conflicting emotions as well, even though she did a good job of keeping the tears out of her eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mr. McQueen…it's gonna be different without you…"

"I know it's going to be a whole new experience, but think about it, you get to enjoy yourself and have fun without this old man slowing you down," he smiled at her again, this time with a soft smile he's reserved for only her. "And if you ever need me, well…you know where to find me."

"Goodbye, Mr. McQueen." She gave him a firm nod and a small wave of her tire to everyone else before closing the trailer door and sitting back, allowing her eyes to water.

"She's gonna do great," Sally said, placing a kiss on Lightning's fender.

"I know she will," Lightning nodded. "She's the world's second greatest racer."

Mack blared his horn, his large engine rumbling loudly. "Next stop, Rusteze-Dinoco Training Center!"

Lightning and the others shouted their final farewells as the truck hauled the trailer down the road, taking their racer in to her next journey.


End file.
